Bones flesh out the curriculum

Burying skeletons on the back oval is not the most conventional teaching method. But Lisa Pearce is hardly a conventional teacher.

And for the ancient history buff, archaeology is serious business.

To inspire her year 7 students at Northern Beaches Secondary College's Cromer Campus she hired a Bobcat to dig a four-metre by four-metre pit between the art building and the basketball courts.

Six weeks ago, the teacher and her students buried three full-size skeletons they made from clay, along with an assortment of artefacts, including a sword, pottery, glasses and floor tiles.

They laid them to replicate the scene of an ancient Minoan temple, which was toppled by an earthquake around 1700BC.

This week they started excavating.

Approximately 500 students were invited to take part, including from a number of local primary schools.

"Usually we learn sitting down reading out of a text book, maybe a little documentary,'' said year 12 student Adam Finch.

''But, with [Ms Pearce], it's like she's doing a documentary in front of us and we're in it."

Ms Pearce, who was wearing an Indiana Jones outfit, has worked on archaeological digs in Israel and Jordan. She taught the students fieldwork methods, using shovels, trowels and brushes and also gave pit-side lessons in scientific sketching.